North Oaks

Welcome to Orchid Restaurant!

Located in the White Bear Township shops adjacent to the White Bear Township theater, the Orchid Restaurant is owned by the Nguyen family who also own two restaurants in France. The fresh, distinctive flavors of Vietnamese and French cooking are well represented on the Orchid Restaurant menu. Chinese and Thai dishes are also featured. Additional restaurant services include children’s, vegetarian, and gluten free menus as well as gift certificates and catering. The restaurant offers selected wines to complement their menus and a full bar.

North Oaks is a suburb 10 miles north of Saint Paul in Ramsey County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 4,469 at the 2010 census. Formerly a gated community that now posts private access signage, all land is owned by homeowners with the North Oaks Home Owners Association maintaining all roads, plowing, parks, facilities, and recreation trails. Each homeowner’s property extends halfway into the street. There is also a city government with a Mayor and City Council that administers basic services such as fire, police, planning, and licensing. The City owns no property. As such the Metropolitan Council has no jurisdiction over the city’s comprehensive plan within Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Structured around Pleasant Lake, the area began as a water source for the Saint Paul municipal water system, which still maintains water access rights today. The land was later purchased by Saint Paul magnate James J. Hill in 1883 and expanded into a 5,000-acre breeding and hobby farm. His son Louis Hill later owned North Oaks Farm until death in 1950. Ownership passed to Louis’ children who decided to develop the land into a model residential community.

They incorporated the North Oaks Company with a mission to build with respect for the natural environment, having witnessed metropolitan sprawl during this time. To ensure their mission would be fulfilled, land was subdivided and sold with a warranty deed that created the North Oaks Home OwnersÕ Association (NOHOA) to be responsible for roads and recreation. Each deed placed each home’s property line half way into the street, placing all roads into private ownership.

Remaining land in the city is owned by the North Oaks Company. The original farm buildings have been restored and are viewable to the public along with informational displays; tours are also available. Two of the remaining structures, the Blacksmith Shop and Machine Shop and Dairy Building, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In May 2008, NOHOA sent a letter to internet search company Google, stating that its Street View software contained images that violated their trespassing ordinance, and requested their removal.

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,469 people, 1,746 households, and 1,378 families residing in the city. The population density was 645.8 inhabitants per square mile. There were 1,868 housing units at an average density of 269.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 93.0% White, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 5.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.